Celtics sign veteran Blake Griffin to one-year deal: report

The Boston Celtics are going through a nightmare of an offseason just a few months after making a trip to the NBA Finals, but their roster is still loaded with talent, ready to make another run in the Eastern Conference. 

On Friday, according to ESPN, Boston added veteran big man Blake Griffin, signing the six-time All-Star to a fully-guaranteed, one-year deal.

Griffin will be entering his 14th NBA season after spending the last two years with the Brooklyn Nets. 

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Once a franchise cornerstone, Griffin’s career has been heavily impacted by injuries over the past several years. From 2019 to 2020, Griffin played in just 38 games as he dealt with injuries to his knees. 

While in Brooklyn, Griffin carved out a role off the bench, averaging 6.4 points and 4.1 rebounds in 17.1 minutes per game. 

Griffin will provide depth to a frontcourt that will possibly be without free agent signing Danilo Gallinari for the season and will be without the services of starting center Robert Williams for 8-12 weeks. 

Gallinari was expected to contribute off the bench for Boston but tore his ACL in the FIBA World Cup qualifier in August and underwent surgery last week. 

While the Celtics did not provide a timeline for Gallinari’s return to the court, the typical recovery time for Gallinari’s injury is six to 12 months. 

Williams also underwent surgery last week, and the Celtics announced that he is expected to miss 8-12 weeks after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure on his knee. 

It’s the second time in less than a year Williams has had a procedure on his left knee. The Celtics big man underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in late March. 

The news of Williams’ timeline for a return came one day after the Celtics announced head coach Ime Udoka had been suspended for the entire 2022-2023 season for “violations of team policies.” 

Udoka reportedly had a consensual relationship with a female staffer within the Celtics organization.